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sábado, 16 de junio de 2012

Bloomsday

Photo by Fran Muñoz

Bloomsday, which happens on June 16th, 1904, is the day on which James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses takes place. It is named after the main character in the novel, Leopold Bloom. Bloomsday and the 90th anniversary of the publication of James Joyce's Ulysses. On the official web page, you will find links to all activities that will be taking place and where all around the world.

At lunchtime it's traditional to stop off for a glass of burgundy and a Gorgonzola sandwich at Davy Byrne's Pub on Duke Street, just as Bloom did. In the afternoon the Ormond Hotel is the spot for an afternoon pint, where Bloom was tempted by the barmaids in "The Sirens" chapter.
Don't be freak out if you even see people dressed as they used to do it at the beginning of past century!

I had the chance to visit Ireland for the first time and one of the obliged stop was the Writer's Museum. I took my copy of the edition of Levin, H. The Essential James Joyce, Penguin, 1948 where I could enjoy some of the chapters of Ulysses: "Nestor" "Hades", "The Wandering Rocks" "The Sirens" and "Penelope".

The chapters division is as follow:

Book I – The Telemachiad – episodes 1-3 ]

1 – Telemachus – “Stately, plump Buck Mulligan”

2 – Nestor – “You, Cochrane”

3 – Proteus – “Ineluctable modality of the visible”

[ Book II – The Odyssey – episodes 4-15 ]

4 – Calypso – “Mr. Leopold Bloom ate”

5 – Lotus Eaters – “By lorries along Sir John Rogerson’s”

6 – Hades – “Martin Cunningham, first”

7 – Aeolus – “IN THE HEART OF THE HIBERNIAN”

8 – Lestrygonians – “Pineapple rock. Lemon platt, butter scotch”

9 – Scylla and Charybdis – “Urbane, to comfort them”

10 – Wandering Rocks – “The Superior, the Very Reverend”

11 – Sirens – “Bronze by gold heard the hoofirons”

12 – Cyclops – “I was just passing the time of day”

13 – Nausicaa – “The summer evening had begun to fold”

14 – Oxen of the Sun – “Deshil Holles Eamus”

15 – Circe – “The Mabbot street entrance of nighttown”

[ Book III – The Nostos – episodes 16-18 ]

16 – Eumaeus – “Preparatory to anything else Mr Bloom brushed”

17 – Ithaca – “What parallel courses did Bloom and Stephen”

18 – Penelope – “Yes because he never did a thing like that before”

So remember if you are around Ireland, Bloomsday celebrations feature readings of Ulysses, James Joyce lookalike contests, various other semi-literary activities, and a good excuse for hoisting a few Guinnesses.